• Age: 26
• Role: Co-Founder & CEO
• Company: BusRight
• Location: New York, NY

Ask someone in school transportation how they got their start, and you’ll often hear a similar story: a bus driver or family member pulled them into the world of the yellow bus. But every so often, the story starts somewhere else. With an idea inspired by real-world experiences.

Long before BusRight existed, a bus driver named Joy drove the route Keith Corso was on. He came to consider her a friend, a constant presence on his route and in his life.

After Joy retired, the transition wasn’t smooth. One day, somehow, the new driver missed Corso’s stop. He was left with no way to get to school, offering an early lesson on how much families rely on the transportation system getting it right.

By high school, Corso had already been bit by the entrepreneurial bug. He shoveled snow for neighbors, sold sneakers after school, and sold pens out of his backpack between classes.

Then one ordinary drive home planted a seed. Corso found himself stuck behind a school bus. It stopped once. Then again. Then again. Then a fourth time. Not a single student got off. As the bus crawled through its route, the line of cars stuck behind it growing larger and linger, he realized something. This was inefficient, and a symptom of a much bigger problem.

He knew that better technology could prevent situations just like that, while improving traffic flow, saving time, and making communication easier using real ridership data and GPS. So, he set out to do just that.

A senior capstone project allowed him to spend afternoons in school bus garages and transportation offices, learning the business firsthand. He discovered budget deficiencies, driver shortages, parent complaints, and complex routing problems.

It was there that he met Phil Dunn, now-former chief information officer of Broward County Public Schools. Dunn immediately recognized the potential in Corso’s idea and partnered with him to launch BusRight. Today, Dunn serves as BusRight’s co-founder and chief product officer.

Corso attended Northeastern University, drawn to its resources for student founders. While there, he continued developing both the technology and the business. He took first place in the Husky Startup Challenge, becoming the youngest winner in the competition’s history. At the same time, an internship at a venture capital firm gave him a close look at how startups raise funding and scale. Between classes and internships, he continued to build BusRight and strengthen relationships throughout the industry.

Hear the BusRight story in Corso’s own words in this video:

A Story of Incredible Growth

The vision was taking shape, and investors like the founders of Quizlet, Wayfair, and Kayak took notice. “Keith’s mission for a modern, efficient, and safe school bus fleet got us excited to help him succeed in an underserved market that was ripe for innovation,” said John Pearce, co-founder and partner at Underscore VC, the firm that was BusRight’s first institutional investor.

Corso is clearly onto something, because it didn’t take long for the business to scale. As of March 2026, BusRight has customers in 36 states and nearly 1 million total users.

After several rounds of earlier funding, BusRight just announced another milestone: It’s now raised $30 million. The funds will go toward what it always has: building the right team, an evolving product, and a wider reach.

Today, BusRight employs almost 80 people, and Corso says it’s on track for 150 in the next year.

And, it continues to gain national recognition: The company recently won the Company of the Year in Consumer Tech award from the New England Venture Capital Association and has been featured in Bloomberg, The Huntington News, TechCrunch, and the Freakonomics podcast.

“BusRight has been the only constant for the better part of my adult life,” Corso said, reflecting on the journey and the support showing up in ways nobody planned for.

Creating Culture in a Young Company

These days, Corso spends much of his time strengthening company culture, hiring talented BusRighters, and working alongside customers and industry leaders.

With another aggressive growth target in mind, it can be hard to maintain a strong culture in a mostly new team, but somehow, he does just that.

Corso acknowledges that without attention to it, culture can quickly derail. “Every part of my focus is on strategic planning right now, thinking thoughtfully about the calendar and ways to infuse cultural events across the business,” he said.

Along his entire professional journey so far, Corso has found people who believe in the mission. That belief doesn't stop at the customer relationship. It shapes how the company operates from the inside.

It even extends to the quickly growing customer base. Case in point: One user just got the company logo tattooed on her leg. Now that’s brand devotion!

How a Mission Changed Lives

For Corso, the most meaningful moments are not the awards or funding announcements; they’re the stories that showcase the difference their product is making in the lives of its users.

He talks about transportation leaders who can take a summer vacation for the first time in decades or spend more time with their families once they no longer stay late at the office.  

“We hear so many stories of people able to do more strategic work and not be completely bogged down every second, because BusRight helps streamline a big part of their back office,” he said. “There's a real fundamental family connection in what these folks are able to do when they have a little more time on their hands. And that, to me, is very meaningful.”

Abby Brookshire, senior marketing lead at BusRight, praises Corso’s empathy and ability to listen closely to both transportation leaders and his own team. 

“He builds technology that truly serves the people behind the system,” she said. “I have never felt more respected, empowered, or passionate about a brand. The mission matters, and the people we serve make you want to work harder to help them succeed.”

Corso often talks about one of the company’s core principles: something he calls “magical hospitality.” It is the idea that every interaction should exceed expectations, and that relationships matter just as much as the technology.

Because at the end of the day, Corso says the software is not the point. “Technology is just a means to an end,” he said. “The people are what matter.”

One piece of advice he still carries with him captures that mindset perfectly: the reward for solving problems is more problems.

“At first that sounds frustrating,” Corso said. “But it actually means you are still in the game. You have earned the right to solve the next problem. And when you get to do that with a team of people you care about and admire, that’s where the camaraderie and the innovation take root.”